Experienced Perkins shoots for 5th straight SBC boys soccer title

PERKINS TWP. — Perkins wants more. Despite winning the Sandusky Bay Conference boys soccer title for the fourth straight season last year — and just the program's third district title in school history — the Pirates are hungry. "The focus is working hard and trying to do better than what we did last year," senior Anthony Bonica said. "We want to progress more. It was a great run last year, but we want to do better. We always want to push ourselves to do better." Perkins returns a staggering 12 seniors, eight of whom were starters, coach Paul Lea said. "It's about making sure we're not overconfident," Lea said. "We are big, strong and physical, more so than a lot of other schools. We were big, strong and physical last year. We have to prepare for every game like it's our last because it will be for a lot of these guys." The Pirates finished 16-4-1 last year and won yet another SBC title. Perkins' season ended with a shutout loss to Lima Shawnee in a Division III regional semifinal. The general consensus heading into the 2025 season is that there's no pressure while pursuing a fifth consecutive league championship. "Pressure? What pressure? No, not for these guys," Lea said. "We are more than confident that the SBC is ours to lose. More than that, we know we have a big target on our back. We're the one that everyone circles on their calendar. We are more the hunted as opposed to being the hunters. "I think the boys are more than capable of being able to handle that." Senior captain Kaden Camp returns after racking up 29 goals and 11 assists last season, earning All-Ohio honors. His 29 goals tied the school record for a season. Camp was named co-Player of the Year in the district and Most Outstanding Performer in the SBC. "We're a pretty big team with about 30 kids. We have a big class of seniors so we have a lot of leaders," Camp said. "The longer we go, the more practice we get and the more time we get together." The Pirates defeated Mansfield Madison in overtime to claim the Division III Norwalk district championship last year. Senior Ryan Wells was a first-team SBC honoree as a midfielder last season. "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but we know that we have business to take care of every game," Wells said. "It's nothing new, really. I think our core group has been in those big games the last three years. We're ready for anything that comes our way this year." Senior defender Ashton Wadsworth returns after being named first-team all-league. Junior attacker Titus Normington-Slay was a second-team pick last season for Perkins. Another senior is first-team SBC defender Talon Walton. He was a big piece of Perkins' baseball run to the Division IV state championship game. Most of his summer was spent playing baseball, but he is ready to get out on the pitch. "We have to go in and make sure we're putting in the work every single day," Walton said. "Everyone wants to beat us because we're the team to beat. We practice exactly how we play. We do our game plan every single practice for how we're going to play in the game." The Pirates never shy away from good competition. In addition to a tough SBC slate, Perkins' non-league schedule includes Toledo Central Catholic, Ontario and Lexington. "We expect the same level of competition from last year," Lea said. "Whether it's Lexington or Madison or whoever it may be, if we see them again, we know they're going to be a really tough opponent. We're more than ready for the challenge." Wells said seeing other teams from out the area could help the Pirates once the tournament comes in October. "In my opinion, the best way for anybody to get better at anything is to go against challenges and struggles," Wells said. "Having those hard games helps us for the league games because it shows us different things we might see." Perkins lost a few matches early last year, but got things going in the middle of the season. The Pirates open this season at 5 p.m. Friday at home against Maumee, a team Perkins lost to last season, 4-1. "I'm seeing a lot of drive from the players," Lea said. "We are excited to get the season started. The boys love getting as many games under their belt as they can before we get the season started. We organized more scrimmages this year than last. Conditioning has been a priority throughout the season. "We've had lots of touches and are maybe looking to change the shape of how we play from last year." Around the SBC Vermilion advanced to a Division IV district title game last year, but the Sailors must replace their three first-team league picks: keeper Caleb German, defender Zeke Dunn and midfielder Wesley Penton. Vermilion brings back a second-team pick, senior defender Zack Werth, and a trio of honorable mention selections: senior midfielders Gavin Wilfing and Brady Parker, and junior attacker Jayden Pettry. Edison returns three first-team honorees in seniors Jose Serna Amaya (attacker) and Alex Davidson (midfielder) and junior defender Trevor Leimeister. The Chargers also have two honorable mention selections back in senior midfielder Kellen McDonald and junior defender Gannon Chartrant. Norwalk brings back two second-team picks, seniors Landon Ferkel (midfielder) and Elliot Gahring (attacker). Port Clinton returns two honorable mention picks: seniors Lincoln Beasley (defender) and Casey Brand (attacker). Huron has one first-team pick returning in second-team honoree, senior Peter Cencer. -----Returning All-SBC selections First team Defender: Trevor Leimeister, Edison; Ashton Wadsworth, Perkins; Talon Walton, Perkins Midfielder: Alex Davidson, Edison; Ryan Wells, Perkins Attacker: Jose Serna Amaya, Edison; Kaden Camp, Perkins Second team Defender: Peter Cencer, Huron; Zack Werth, Vermilion Midfielder: Landon Ferkel, Norwalk; Anthony Bonica, Perkins Attacker: Elliot Gahring, Norwalk; Andrew Tackett, Old Fort; Titus Normington-Slay, Perkins Honorable mention Defender: Gannon Chartrant, Edison; Brayden Davis, Old Fort; Lincoln Beasley, Port Clinton Midfielder: Kellen McDonnell, Edison; Gavin Wilfing, Vermilion; Brady Parker, Vermilion Attacker: Casey Brand, Port Clinton; Deyker Inciarte, Sandusky; Jayden Pettry, Vermilion